Starfire
by kryscrossed
Summary: A dark force is moving over the land, and Briar, along with his foster sisters, has been tasked with it's destruction. Part One of Four, each will be told in the view of one of the Circle.
1. Aurora

_Howdy all! This is my first Circle of Magic fic, so please go easy on me. :-) I've been wanting to try something new, and my muses struck tonight, and this is what came out. Review, let me know what you think, I'll take all the help I can get. Constructive criticism welcome!_

* * *

The young man sat straight on his mount, his green eyes scanning the horizon, searching for something. He'd been traveling for three days now, and though he'd enjoyed the solitude, he was ready to reach his destination. So much was riding on the task at hand, and having it hanging over his head… it didn't sit well with him. 

He frowned slightly, his gaze falling across the form of a young woman walking by herself, her cloak pulled tightly about her to ward off the early winter chill. He urged his horse forward, riding closer to the girl before reigning in. He dismounted while he was still a few yards away, not wanting to frighten the girl.

"You shouldn't be out alone. Don't you know of the bandits that have been on this road? It's not safe."

The girl looked up, seemingly startled, though he didn't know how she could have missed the sound of his horse's hooves. Her eyes were blue, astonishingly so, and he had a hard time not reacting when they seemed to cut right through him.

"I know of the bandits." She stated simply, still staring at him, "What makes you think you're safe from them?"

He narrowed his eyes, suddenly aware of how foolish he had acted. For all he knew this was a trap, the girl used to lure unsuspecting travelers while her companions waited to ambush. "Who are you?" He asked sharply, mentally kicking himself for being so distracted by his task, allowing himself to miss something so obvious.

"I'm of no consequence," she answered, stepping closer to him, "But they call me Aurora."

He watched her step closer, and reached within himself, drawing from his magic, silently sending it out among the plants, asking them if there were any others waiting within the trees. "And who are 'they'?" He questioned biding his time, his eyes alert as he scanned his surroundings. His magic came back to him; nobody else was within miles of the place. The information should have eased his mind, but something felt wrong. He just couldn't place what.

Aurora studied him with those blue eyes of hers, and he had to fight back an involuntary shudder, "You know my name, but I am still unaware of who you are. It's hardly fair."

"Briar." He answered her, feeling unable to remain silent, "I'm called Briar."

She nodded, still quietly assessing him. It was then that Briar realized what seemed wrong with her. She was stiff. Too stiff, really. Like a puppet on a string, everything about her seemed forced.

"Tell me, Briar. Can you even control the trees with that magic of yours?"

Briar's mouth dropped open for a moment as he stared at her, "How did you—" His question was cut short when he saw her hand reaching for a pouch, pure instinct caused him to react, thrusting his green magic into the ground, he watched as two vines sprouted, growing at an alarming speed as they twisted themselves around her legs, and up her torso, roughly pinning her arms to her sides.

Surprise flickered in her eyes, the first real emotion he's seen there, and he stepped towards her, glaring down as she struggled against the vines. "Don't bother," he said, "They're not normal vines, and they won't break, whatever magic you may possess."

"He underestimated you," was her only response, her words merely a whisper, "Perhaps that will be his greatest mistake."

"What are you talking about?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but she didn't have the chance to answer. She gasped slightly, and her eyes rolled back into her head, her body pitching forward, still wrapped in its cocoon of vines.

Briar reacted before he'd had time to think about it, catching her before her body hit the ground. She was still alive, her breathing shallow, but steady. Briar scowled down at her, wondering if this was just another trick, something to catch him off her guard. He glanced around, sending his magic out once more, not trusting the fact that she had been alone. It returned to him quickly, still reporting that nobody was around.

Briar made a quick decision, hoisting her body up, still wrapped in his vines, and laying her across his saddle. It would be uncomfortable for her, but Briar didn't care about that. He mentally asked the vines to part, and, using one of his many knives, cut her pouch loose from her belt. He opened it looking at peering in curiously. There was a small knife inside, which didn't surprise him, but laying beside that was a crystal. It glowed a steady blue, and when he reached in to take it out, it burnt him, offering a shock, similar to the ones his foster sister Tris had given him over the years. He cursed, blowing on his fingers before he closed the pouch slipping it into his pocket to deal with later.

He made sure the girl was secure on the horse, however much he didn't care about her discomfort—he was pretty sure she'd been reaching for that knife, or the crystal, but either way probably wouldn't have boded well for him—he didn't want her falling off the horse. A dead girl would complicate matters, and her words were still echoing through his head. _"He underestimated you. Perhaps that will be his greatest mistake."_

Briar had no idea what she meant by that, but he had every intention of finding out. He mounted his horse, maneuvering behind the girl so he could keep an arm on her as he held the reigns. He kicked his mount into motion, starting once again down the mostly abandoned road. He was still half a day's ride from Winding Circle, and now he had even more reason to get there. He could only hope Niko would be able to offer some sort of explanation about this girl, her strange words, and her strange crystal.


	2. Empath

_Hey there. So, here's chapter two! (Please, hold your applause.) I know the first one was short, but it was really more of a prologue than anything, most of my chapters should be longer. Right. _

_Reviews are adored, they make me write faster, without them, updates will be few and far between. (It's true. Even though I'm updating now, I'll loose steam if I don't get some kind of hint that people are reading. Think of me as you will because of that, but it's true.)_

* * *

As he rode, Briar's mood darkened. He turned over the events of the morning in his head, trying to make sense of them. The fact that the girl had been alone was strange. But judging by the crystal, and the knife—though Briar knew there were better places to keep a hidden knife than a small pouch—she had been intending on dealing some sort of damage. And she hadn't been frightened of him, or really all that surprised to see him. Had she been waiting for him? If so Briar had walked into the trap quite nicely, a thought that made him scowl. But why had she passed out? That hadn't been his doing. His vines had merely restrained her; they certainly hadn't been wrapped tight enough to cause her lack of consciousness. Frustrated, Briar turned it from his mind, not wanting to think on it any longer.

He was getting closer to Winding Circle, and out of curiosity, tugged gently on his connection with Tris, wondering if he was close enough to speak with her yet.

_I'm reading. _Was her quick response, and it made him smile despite everything.

_What, no warm words of welcome for me? Truly, I'm wounded. _He replied, goading her.

_Where are you? _Tris replied, her words edged with irritation, though he could feel her smile, _You were supposed to be here hours ago. _

Briar glanced down at the girl, sending the mental picture Tris's way, _I got a little tied up. _

_Well, that's a new way for you to bring girls home. What's the matter, your charm isn't working on them anymore and you have to resort to using magic tricks? _She replied, her amusement evident in her words.

_Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, Coppercurls. _He gave her a fairly quick account of what had transpired this morning, sending her some of his own memories to speed things along, _Let Niko know what happened, will you? I'm going to bring her to him, he's better suited to deal with her than I am. _

_I will. See you soon. _Tris responded, before closing their connection.

Briar nodded his satisfaction, though nobody would see it but him. At least he'd be getting rid of the girl once he got to the temple. He was glad of that, she was making his ride uncomfortable.

He rode into Winding Circle, cutting a direct path towards Niko's residence. He handed his reigns off to a hostler, along with a goodly tip, ensuring the proper care of his horse. He lifted the girl down off the horse, cradling her carefully as he entered the house. Tris was there, he'd felt her as soon as he'd entered Winding Circle, and Niko stood by her, both reading a book that was spread out in front of her.

"Where should I put her?" Briar asked, getting right to the point.

Niko turned, glancing at the girl with curiosity, "In the spare room," he responded, nodding to the door he referred to and following Briar inside. "Tris says she was waiting for you?"

Briar shrugged, depositing the girl on the bed. "She wasn't surprised to see me, that's for certain. Whether she was waiting for me or not…" Briar shrugged again, trailing off.

Niko nodded, "Did you get what you needed?" He asked, turning his attention back to Briar for a moment.

Briar nodded, his fingers closing around the small object in his pocket, "Yes."

"Good. Take it to Dedicate Crane, he'll be waiting for it."

Briar made a face at the mention of Dedicate Crane, but nodded, knowing some things were more important than a childish dislike of the mage. He turned, glancing at Tris as he entered the common room again, "I'll be back, careful of that girl, we don't know what she'd capable of."

Tris glanced up for a moment, clearly distracted by her book, "I'll go look in on her in a minute," she replied, waving him away so she could finish what she was reading.

Briar grinned a little as he left the cottage, some things would never change. It was a quick walk to Dedicate Crane's ridding himself of the object which had been heavy in his pocket. He was glad to be rid of it, signaling the end of his involvement in that particular mess.

He detoured around to the kitchen, paying a visit to Dedicate Gorse, and relieving him of two baskets of freshly baked goods as he did. Briar headed back towards Niko's feeling unburdened for the first time in weeks. His grin dropped off his face when his eyes took in the scene at the little cottage. The shutters had been blown open, some barely hanging on their hinges, and the roof that had moments before looked in good repair, was actually missing in places, bits of thatching littering the small yard.

_What happened?! _He called mentally to Tris, as his pace quickened. He winced at the immediate fury he could feel across their connection, _You haven't lost control like this in years. _

_I_ didn't _lose control! _Tris replied, silently raging. _Not like that, anyways! That girl did this!_

Briar dropped the baskets by the door, hurrying into the cottage. The inside looked worse than the outside, papers and books everywhere, furniture overturned, it looked like a small hurricane had passed through the room.

The girl was still laying in the bed, but the vines that had been wrapped around her were torn to shreds, a sight that made Briar grit his teeth in anger. "What happened?" he asked again, this time vocally so Niko could hear the question as well.

Niko glanced over at him for a moment, his hand resting on the girl's forehead. He removed it after another moment, directing his first words at Tris, "She'll sleep for a while now." Niko rubbed his hand across his chin, clearly thinking hard about something. "Those winds weren't yours," he said to Tris, half asking, half stating.

"No, of course not!" She replied, her face reddened in anger.

"Unbelievable," Niko murmured, moving distractedly from the room, followed by both Briar and Tris.

"What do you mean, unbelievable? What exactly happened?" Briar asked, beginning to feel irritated that no one would respond to his question.

"I mean, I've read that it was possible, but I've never seen it myself." Niko continued quietly, picking up books off the floor to read their spines before tossing them back to the ground.

"Niko!" Tris exclaimed, exasperated, "Do you mind telling us what you're going on about?"

Niko glanced up at Tris, one eyebrow raised at her tone.

"I mean… Could you please explain what's going on?"

"Well," he replied slowly, "I can't be sure, but… I think she's what used to be called an empath. Though the term is highly inaccurate, it was what scholars called them when they were first discovered. And though misleading, the term stuck." Niko picked up another book, glancing at the title, "Ah, here we are." He grew quiet again as he flipped through the pages of the book, looking for something.

Briar and Tris exchanged a look, neither needing to speak—vocally or otherwise—to guess what the other was thinking.

Tris was the first to talk, breaking the short silence, "An empath?" She asked, prodding Niko into continuing his exclamation.

"Hmm?" Niko asked absently, his eyes quickly scanning down the pages of the book, "Oh, yes. An empath. She can channel the powers of mages around her. Another common term would be "Vessel" though that too is a little misleading."

Briar's eyebrows shot up, "Are you saying it was _her _who did all this? Using Tris's weather magic?"

"Exactly." Niko sighed, tossing the book back down again, "it's not there. I suppose I need to go speak with some people about this." He glanced back at Briar and Tris, as if seeing them for the first time, "Stay here and watch her. She won't wake up, not till I wake her, so there's no need to worry about her using your powers again. Though that _is _something we're going to have to deal with soon."

With that, he turned, leaving the cottage and heading down one of the many paths outside.

"Well." Briar commented dryly, "He seems to be doing well, don't you think?"

Tris shot him a look, rolling her eyes a little as she turned back towards the bedroom. Briar followed her back into the room, his eyes scanning over the mess the place was in. "She did a good job with this, Coppercurls, it's almost like being back in Discipline with you."

"Would you like to have a more accurate reenactment?" Tris threatened, though her lip twitched up in a half smile. She turned her gaze back on the girl, her face darkening considerably, "I can't believe she used my power! The little thief!" She glanced back at Briar, "no offense."

Briar snorted, moving to the side of the bed, "What's this?" He reached down, gingerly lifting a small wooden charm up off the girls neck. It was charred black, as if it had been burnt, and it left black ash across his fingers. The bit of hemp it had been attached to crumbled when he picked it up, falling away from the girls neck. "It's burnt."

"Let's see," Tris reached out, taking the charm from Briar. "It's a binding spell." She said, glancing at it over her spectacles. "Or it was, rather. I don't think it's active anymore."

"A binding spell?"

"Yeah," Tris replied, disgusted in her voice, "Slave owners use them, to make sure their… property won't try to escape… or murder them."

Briar quirked and eyebrow, glancing down at the sleeping girl again, "So she was a slave?"

Tris shrugged, "I guess so." She sat in the chair in the corner of the room, her chin in her hands.

Briar leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest as he studied the girl, with her eyes closed, and her face peaceful as she slept, she looked rather harmless. "She doesn't look so dangerous now, does she?"

"The deadliest storms come after the most peaceful calm." Tris replied, her eyes also on the girl.

Briar grinned at that, "How poetic, Coppercurls, have you been reading those romance books again?"

Tris wrinkled her nose at his teasing, "Oh, how I've missed having my brother around." She intoned, her voice dry as she glanced at him.

Briar laughed at that, winking at the girl, "You know you've missed me, if I wasn't around, who'd keep you on your toes?"

"Who indeed?" Tris returned, a wry smile playing across her lips.


End file.
